Damaris Young's first novel for children, the Switching Hour is a story of survival and stolen dreams set against a drought stricken African backdrop. She wrote the book while studying on the Bath Spa University MA for creative writing where she was influenced by Frances Hardinge’s the Lie Tree, one of the Tygertale 100 best children’s books of the 21st century.

In this episode Damaris discusses how the Lie Tree inspired her to create a cast of strong female characters and how her own experiences growing up in central and southern Africa combined with a love of fantasy to produce a memorable new fable for children living through the climate crisis.

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